Anyone who has had the pleasure of roaming the palm groves that are tucked away in the Hajar Mountains has come across the narrow channels that carry the water from collection ponds to the small square plots of palms, citrus and mango trees, banana groves and alfalfa. In the old plantations, the channels are made of mud or rocks and they meander romantically among the weeds that grow along their sides, benefiting from leaking water. In other places new cemented channels have been made. They draw straight lines through the fields, and since they do not leak as much water, the weeds are less or non-existent. For a natural history enthusiast like myself, the old systems are much more interesting. Many pretty flowers exist by the grace of the irrigation water as do the various species of dragonflies and damselflies, the toads and the little wadi fishes.

    It is fascinating to watch plantation workers implement the irrigation system. It works this way: the water is channeled from mountain sources far away to large basins or pools at the edge of the plantation. From there a network of surface channels criss-crosses the plantation. Wherever a channel branches from a main channel a sluice is constructed, either from a piece of metal or from some rocks or sometimes even from a wad of old rags. The water runs to a set of fields and floods them, and when the trees are standing in a layer of water, the sluices are opened to the next set of fields. In this way the available water is divided over the entire plantation in the course of a day or so. At night the collection pool fills up again and the next day the process starts from the beginning.

    For many years I thought that these channels were called "aflaj", the plural of "falaj". Only recently did I learn that this name actually only belongs to the part of the irrigation system that runs underground. The surface channels that can be seen above ground are called "ghayl" - a name that is also given to several settlements in the country.

   Most of the rain in this country falls in the mountains, where isolated thunderstorms cause precipitation even during the hot summer months. In various places in the Hajar Mountains there are streams that have permanent running water, or at least deep pools that contain water for a long time even in years of drought. These water sources have been used since many centuries to provide water for the fertile soil at the foot of the mountains. Al Ain is the prime example of a huge oasis that exists by the grace of the mountain water resources and the ancient irrigation system that brings the water across many kilometers of mountains and gravel plains to the place where gardens were created on the alluvial soils that were deposited at the foot of the mountain range.

    Irrigation systems like the ones that exist here are known from other places in the world, as far apart as Europe (Spain) and Central Asia. The most sophisticated systems so far were from Iran and Afghanistan. Those are called "qanat" or "kahriz" and were long thought to be the oldest systems, having been reported fro the first time in reports by the Assyrian kin Sargon II in 714 BC. The art of making these systems was long thought to have come to Arabia from Iran and Iraq. However, recent archeological studies have revealed that the underground irrigation channels that occur along the western side of the Hajar Mountains in the UAE and Oman preceded these "qanat" by a few centuries. It could very well be that the engineering skills needed to build these intricate waterways passed the other way. The fact that the word "qanat" is Arabic is another indication that the underground irrigation systems originated in the Oman peneinsula rather than in Iran.

    Dr Walid Yasin al Tikriti, Adviser of Archaeology at the Department of Antiquities and Tourism in Al Ain conducted several digs that laid bare deep underground channels that have been dated to 1000 years BC. None of the Irani "aflaj" are this old. The newly discovered channels were lined with pavement slabs of rock, and were highly sophisticated. Workers from special tribes, such as the Al Awamir, who were experts at this kind of work, dug them far underground. Their descendants are still living in the region and have worked to restore the old systems as recently as 50 years ago.

    The channel started at the source of the water in the mountains or at an underground source tapped by a mother well. It had to descend at a certain angle in order to cause the water to flow gently with the force of gravity. The angle had to be calculated exactly, so that the channel would reach the fields that were to be irrigated at precisely the correct level. Every hundred or so meters an airshaft had to be dug to the surface, called "tuqbah" (pl. "tuqab"), in order to provide the workers below ground with air, and to facilitate maintenance work on the channels later on. Closer to the fields in the plains, the channel would become a deep ditch rather than a tunnel. However, in order to prevent evaporation and pollution, this ditch was then covered with slabs of rock or bricks. These are called "cut-and-cover sections". A large basin – the “shari’ah - was made at the point where the water ran at surface level. This basin was a collection area and often also used as a washing place. It was lined with flat slabs of rocks. In one location at Bina bin Sa'ud near Al Ain a long steep staircase leads down to the shari'ah. (It was this find that provided data for the age of the system: more than 300 sherds of pottery were found during the dig to the level of the shari'ah 3.8 m below the present ground surface. The sherds were of Iron Age pottery, dating back some 3000 years).

    Beyond the basin a network of smaller surface channels (the "ghayl") led to the fields that needed irrigation. As time went on the irrigation system sometimes had to be deepened in order to keep flowing. This would cause the whole system to end a bit further away at a slightly lower elevation. Fields and settlements would be moved accordingly.

    Iron Age "aflaj" have been found so far in Al Ain's Hili, Bida bin Saoud, and further north in the Jebeeb and Madam areas. In Oman such old systems have been found in the Maiyser and Raki areas. In Oman two Iron age ceramic bowls were found alongside the aflaj. In Hili in two locations some large buildings were unearthed close to the shari'ah. These are considered to be administration sites for the distribution of the precious water and have been given the name "bayt al-falaj"

    Dr Al Tikriti who has been working in the UAE for thirty years, has written a book about these ancient "aflaj" which has been published in Arabic already and is being translated into English now.

    Even in this age of modern technology, the system of "aflaj" and "ghayl" is still functional. Since it does not depend on engines that can break down or on pipes that can rust and burst, it has been operational without fail for up to 3000 years. The only work it needed was cleaning the channels of rubble from time to time, especially after strong rains. His Highness the President, Sheikh Zayed launched a program for the restoration and renovation of water resources, including the "falaj" systems, at the time when he was governor of Al Ain in the late nineteen forties. This restoration program took 18 years and provided the water that made the area famous for its agricultural progress.